making news in america this morning. >> gadhafi fights back. happening right now. his forces launch major attacks on rebel fighters. unplanned trip. another air controller suspended for sending a packed 737 too close to another plane. and the first to go, from kirstie alley to sugar ray, surviving the first round of tv's hottest show. good morning, everybody. thanks for being with us today. there has been a major setback for anti-government forces in libya. rebels are now running from the towns of brega and ras la nuf, after being hammered by

gadhafi's forces. >> and there's debate in washington, whether the u.s. should help the rebels by providing them with weapons. emily schmidt has the latest. good morning, emily. >> reporter: good morning to you. president obama says he is looking at all options to support the rebels. but when members of the international diplomatic community met in london and had a chance to talk about it, one member said the talk of arming rebels didn't come up. with nato set to take command of military operation, president obama says moammar gadhafi is feeling the pressure. >> the circle around gadhafi understands that the noose is tightening. their days are probably numbered. >> reporter: diplomats from more than three dozen countries met in london yesterday, to discuss libya in a potential post-gadhafi era. >> we must help people plan for their future after the conflict is over. >> reporter: but forces loyal to gadhafi are pushing back rebels from ground they just gained. diplomats say they did not discuss arming the rebels.

though, the idea is up for debate. >> there could be a legitimate transfer of arms if i country would choose to do that. >> we are there to protect people. not to arm people. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner says the mission needs a time line. >> how long will nato be there to enforce a no-fly zone? that's a very troubling question. >> reporter: in north carolina, sailors and marines are preparing for deployment to the libyan coast that could last a year, depending in part on what gadhafi does next. >> until that time, we're going to keep on applying pressure. and hopefully, he's going to be getting the message soon. >> reporter: this week, president obama laid out five criteria that he said justified involvement in libya. yesterday, he would not say if the same criteria would apply to other countries. >> thanks, emily. in syria, there's been a massive show of support for the government after days of protests rocked the country. but president obama appears to

rule out u.s. involvement there. he tells diane sawyer that libya was a unique situation, since gadhafi was willing to kill his own people. situation is different in syria, where the government is making concessi concessions. gunmen stormed a building in tikrit. when the standoff was over, nearly 60 people were dead, 100 were wounded. al qaeda in iraq is being blamed. in an effort to help japan deal with its nuclearthe u.s. is the u.s. is sending in some robots. they will enter areas of that crippled nuclear plant where the radiation level is simply too high for humans. the robots will send back video, as well as radiation readings and other data. meanwhile, a new test of sea water near the plant shows radiation there is at its highest level yet. the nation's highest court appears ready to block a massive

sex discrimination suit against walmart. the supreme court heard arguments on the suit, brought by three of the female employees. several of the justices appeared less than convinced. here's t.j. winick. >> reporter: the plaintiffs accuse walmart of passing them over for promotions, paying them less than men. >> before i got promoted, when i was asking what i need to do, i was told to blow the cobwebs off my makeup and to doll up. >> reporter: the supreme court must decide whether thousands of female employees were discriminated against, but whether they should be allowed to bring the biggest class-action lawsuit ever against america's largest employer. >> these plaintiffs are trying to represent more than 1.5 million associates. >> reporter: the three women on the court appeared to be the most sympathetic on the case. ruth bader ginsburg asked, isn't there some responsibility on the company to say, is gender discrimination at work? and if there is, is there justification to stop it?

but antonin scalia, the argument that the company as a whole discriminated. which is it, scalia said. it's either individual supervisors who are left on their own. or a strong corporate culture that tells you what to do. if the lawsuit is allowed to proceed, it would allow 1.5 million employees seeking back pay for millions of dollars. >> the fight has just begun. >> reporter: the suit was originally filed in 2001, in lower courts have ruled the case should proceed. a decision from the security is expected in early summer. t.j. winick, abc news, new york. in other news now, investigators in alabama want to know if a string of hospital deaths are all related. at least nine patients have died after receiving treatments from i.v. bags contaminated with bacteria. ten others were sickened.

those who died were already il those i.v.s. no direct link has been found. also this morning, three people are dead after their small plane crashed nose-first into a city park in southern michigan. an eyewitness says the piper malibu mirage was flying very low. and turned and crashed on a soccer field. it exploded as it hit the ground. the single-engine plane had started its flight in southern pennsylvania. there are reports of tornadoes and lots of damage this morning across the deep south. the most severe storms moved through the new orleans area, with heavy rains, strong winds and hail, as large as golf balls in some areas. trees were no match there. power lines came down, causing power outages. and taking a look at this morning's weather from around the country. more downpours today in the southeast. down into florida. in the northwest, the cascades will see heavy snow. there's avalanche warning there's. and increasing cloudiness in the northeast and rain by evening. fair weather in the middle of the country. and warming up in the southwest. >> and it will be in the mid 40s

in the upper midwest. about 54 in kansas city. in the 60s in the southern plains. and 70s in california. the highs in the northeast will be around 50. and both miami and phoenix should reach about 87. >> temps pretty good. coming up, the world's tallest hotel opens its doors. on top of that, too close for comfort. another air controller in trouble this morning over a very dangerous request. and dancing's not for everyone, clearly. looks like that guy didn't quite pick it up. the first star is sent home.

home prices appear to be headed for a double-dip. a new report finds that prices fell 3% in january in the nation's 20 biggest cities. and they're now approaching the lows set during the recession. many analysts expect prices to fall below those levels, marking a double-dip. one reason for that, too many foreclosed homes are on the market. and asian markets jumped today, following encouraging news that many japanese companies are now restarting production following the devastating earthquake and tsunami. tokyo's nikkei average's surged 2.6%. hong kong's hang seng climbed 1.6%. in london, the ftse opened higher. and on wall street, the dow rose 81 points. the nasdaq added 26. japanese automakers are still having trouble getting back on track. parts shortages are now spreading to their u.s. operations. toyota told u.s. dealers tuesday

to stop ordering more than 200 replacement parts. and honda says it is slowing production at u.s. assembly plants to conserve parts. nintendo's 3d gaming console is off to strong sales in stores. it's the highest of any handheld system in its history. it did not release actual sales figures from sunday. and talk with a room with a view. the world's tallest hotel is open for business. the ritz carlton hong kong opened its doors for on tuesday. all 312 rooms have city and harbor views. there are also six restaurants, a spa with floor-to-ceiling windows and an indoor infinity pool. if you're afraid of heights, might not be for you. i'll take. >> i'll take it. wow. next on this wednesday, a bullet pierces an airline full of passengers. how about this? swallowed whole by a sink hole in her backyard. and it's happened before. >> wow. plus, cleveland's revenge, as lebron james takes on his

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has better nutrition for you? mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. and now, for a look at your morning road conditions. interstate 5 from seattle to portland will be wet with some flooding possible. also, interstates 90 and 84 in the pacific northwest could be slippery with snow in the higher elevations. i-15, from utah to montana will be icy and slippery. and in the southeast, highways will be wet with some possible flooding. >> and if you're flying, rob, pay attention, airport delays are possible in new orleans, atlanta, miami and charlotte. >> please, clear up. this morning, a new, scary incident in the skies. >> multiple agencies are investigating another controller mishap. this one happened sunday night over central florida. >> a controller sent a passenger jet on an unplanned side trip. another air traffic controller

is in hot water, suspended for sending a passenger jet on a rei dangerous recon mission. the jet, a southwest airline 737, with more than 140 people onboard. flight 821 from phoenix was preparing to land in orlando. about ten miles ahead, a private plane that had been out of radio contact. the air traffic control supervisor asked the southwest crew to fly toward the smaller plane and take a look. the pilots agreed and reported two people in the cockpit. the problem, the planes were too close. the head of the faa says by doing so, quote, the air traffic controller compromised the erer safety of everyone involved.icic causing two passenger planes to land without clearance. he was also suspended. it's not clear how close the planes actually got to each other. but both did land safely. and in another investigation involving a plane, the fbi is

trying to figure out how a bullet pierced the fuselage of this u.s. airways jet. a pilot noticed the hole monday during a preflight inspection in charlotte, north carolina. the boeing 737 had just arrived in a flight from philadelphia. the bullet never penetrated the cabin of that plane. the family of a 13-year-old texas boy who killed himself is now suing the school district. the suit names several administrators and teachers. and said that jon asked for help but didn't get it. the family maintains they're not suing for the money but to heighten awareness about bullying and its consequences. virginia tech is now being fine@d@d

against the fans whongng ad him for so many years. the first time, lebron got revenge. final seconds in the third quarter in this one. it was looking pretty good for lebron with that shot, from three-quarter court. the basket would count after being reviewed. and the heat were down by five. under six minutes left, cavs up two. ryan hollins with a huge slam. and cleveland was up by four. two minutes to go. baron davis, the driving lane. lebron, go home. the cavaliers win. maya moore and uconn, hoping to advance to the final four, facing duke. under five seconds to play in the first half. moore, beating the buzzer. 13 points, 9 rebounds. just a half for the huskies' star. in the second half, uconn ran away with it. stefanie dolson, the nice look to moore. easy lay-in underneath. late in the second half, moore, only 2 points shy of 3,000 career points. there it is. mrs. 3,000. 28 points and 10 rebounds, as

uconn wins by 35. brittney griner and the lady bears, hosting texas a&m in dallas. the winner goes to the final four. second half. baylor down ten. griner getting the ball in the post. the jumper. she had 20 points and 9 rebounds. under six to play. a&m up by eight. danielle adams, a rainbow over griner. adams, only six points. the aggies are up by ten. under three to go. sydney colson with the steal. all the way for the layup and the foul. aggies upset baylor, move on to play stanford in the final four in indy. you're up to date for now. and don't forget, for all of the latest, check us out on "the highlight express" on espn news. baseball's opening day is tomorrow. but at least one guy is already in mid-season form. he's a paramedic in the stands at the tigers/yankees game yesterday. didn't even need a glove. well done, man. and high-fives all around.

he got a chance to be on national tv. and, yes, he did keep the ball. >> you know that had to hurt. no glove. >> he had a tough job. good catch. the new season of "dancing with the stars" has its first casualty. >> the couple with the lowest overall combine totals and therefore leaving right now is mike and lacey. >> psycho mike gets the boot. we'll find out how he's taking his loss coming up later on "good morning america." >> on top of that, the former karate kid, ralph macchio is the man to beat. he had the top scores. and steelers' wide receiver, hines ward continues to impress. he came in at number two. >> the karate kid can boogie. he's amazing. we'll see how he does. coming up next, the new concern over food coloring found in everything from juice to cereal. should those products come with warning labels? and the whale who killed a trainer at seaworld returns to action later today. we'll be right back.

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that crippled nuclear plant. the drones will go to the areas of the facility where radiation levels are too high for humans to work. president obama addresses the nation's energy policy later in a speech today. mr. obama will specifically comment on energy security during the address. it will take place at georgetown university in washington. he has said he would like 80% of america's energy to come from clean sources by the year 2035. an fda panel begins two days of hearings on whether warning labels should be put on certain common food dyes. recent studies have linked those dyes with behavioral problems in children. killer whale tilikum returns to the show of orlando's seaworld, for the first time since killing a trainer more than a year ago. new safety measures have been put in place since the tragedy. and nasa, today, releases more close-up photos of mercury, taken by the first space probe to orbit the planet. nasa scientists will also discuss what they've learned about mercury. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, all grown up. we talk to a young surfer who lost her arm.

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>> eric: up next, changing the call. why cal berkeley baseball may not be out after all. new state community declares a state of emergency. worried homeowners are now being told the damaged homes may be the only thing holding up a sliding hillside. record highs is possible today and tomorrow. update you a chance of rain over the weekend professional surfer bethany hamilton is so good, that you don't notice at first she is missing an arm. you may remember this story.

it was bitten off by a shark. >> seven years after that attack, her amazing story is going to make it to the silver screen. here's abbie boudreau. >> reporter: so much has changed since that morning 7 1/2 years ago. bethany hamilton was serving with friends. when a tiger shark came and ripped off her arm. >> it was kind of like that. >> reporter: when you look back to that day of theews in